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Protesters gather for a rally in front of Florida Senator Marco Rubio's (R-FL) office to ask him to retract his support for Florida's so called 'Stand Your Ground' gun law on April 9, 2012 in Miami, Fl.

Stand your ground: good for defense attorneys, bad for citizens

Who ‘stand your ground’ helps…and hurts

Criminal defense attorney Ken Padowitz explains to Rev. Sharpton why he thinks stand your ground laws are great for people like him, but bad for nearly everyone else, in this bonus material from “50 Years of Guns” airing on msnbc at 9pmET.

Ken Padowitz knows that Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” law makes his life easier. As a criminal defense attorney, he has invoked it repeatedly over the years to defend his clients.

“I think it’s malpractice for a criminal defense lawyer not to use the stand your ground law in every single case where there’s a charge of a violent crime, such as aggravated assault or an aggravated battery,” he said.

The law not only gives defense attorneys the opportunity to clear their client with an immunity hearing, but it gives them the legal bonus of having two opportunities to cross examine witnesses.

“Defense attorney get two bites at the apple,” says Padowitz. But recognizing the legal benefits for someone in his line of work doesn’t stop him from recognizing how damaging it is to the rest of the community.

“I think it’s a very bad thing for citizens of the state of Florida and every state that has this law,” he explained to Rev. Sharpton in an unaired portion of MSNBC’s special program “50 Years of Guns.”

“If you are using the stand your ground law, it actually encourages that person not only to shoot, but to shoot to kill,” he said. “Because if you eliminate the only potential other witness, you’re much more likely to be able to prevail in a stand your ground hearing.”

“People perceive slights that are not there, insults that are not there, threats that are not there, and the sad part is you’re going to empower those misjudgments with saying you have the legal right to use deadly force,” he said. “In a civilized society that should be unthinkable.”

On Friday, Nov. 22 at 9 p.m. ET, MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton examines the epidemic of gun violence in American cities with “50 Years of Guns.”